The Guardian reports that Disney is threatening legal action against Brightspark Entertainment over what Disney terms “misleading” budget DVD releases that are packaged to look like animated films from Disney or Pixar. Disney specifically cited Braver, whose DVD cover shares a red-haired princess in a green dress with Disney/Pixar’s Brave movie posters. Other titles released […]

I can’t say I was optimistic on hearing that Skechers shoes were going to be expanding their animated TV ads into feature-length direct-to-video movies. I’m not reflexively against merchandise-based cartoons, but shoes just don’t seem to spark the imagination in the same way that dolls, action figures, or even board games can. Consequently, it’s not […]

The Los Angeles Times has examined the “drafting phenomenon” in the movie industry, where direct-to-video knockoffs of major studio films exploit the studios’ marketing campaigns. Animated family films are frequent subjects for knockoffs, with recent releases including Kiara the Brave and Life’s a Jungle: Africa’s Most Wanted, which are drafting off Pixar’s Brave and DreamWorks […]

The World’s Finest has interviewed composer Robert Kral on his work scoring the latest DC direct-to-video movie Superman vs. the Elite. Among other topics, Kral discusses how the music he composed for Superman Doomsday was used in the new movie, how story and tone affect his compositions, the differences between composing for feature-length movies vs. […]

The good news can come first: I think the movie makes numerous improvements over the original comic book story, making it more accessible to a general audience and a bit more satisfying overall. Joe Kelly adapted his own story for the screen, and the movie’s 74-minute running time allows him to develop some ideas better […]

Even before seeing it, Disney fans are citing many reasons to dislike Cinderella III. It’s another direct-to-video sequel from the Disney studios, joining a crowded field of sequels that range from the pretty good to the nearly unwatchable. It’s also a sequel to one of the studio’s most beloved animated classics, even though the original’s […]